New scheduled archiving options enable businesses to time their backups on a daily, weekly, or monthly recurring basis. Administrators can also opt for incremental archives via change-block tracking, a time-saving feature that takes into account changed data rather than storing full backups.

AppAssure 5.4.2 supports SQL Server 2014, Microsoft's newest database offering. The software is also compatible with second-generation Hyper-V and VMware version 10 virtual machines, for environments that have adopted the latest virtualization platforms. In terms of security, it now complies with the FIPS 140-2 encryption standard.

Running on the Dell DL1000 backup appliance, AppAssure provides "almost-instant" live recovery data restoration services with a recovery time objective measured in minutes. Universal recovery capabilities allow administrators to restore practically any type of data, from a single file to a complete system.

Built-in deduplication and file compression cuts backup storage requirements by up to 80 percent, according to Dell. A virtual standby feature, available as an option on the 3 TB version of the DL1000, feeds updates to an additional virtual machine (VM) for improved disaster recovery.

The appliances are powered by Intel Xeon processors and run Windows Server 2012 R2. System memory weighs in at 16 GB of DDR3 RAM with ECC on the 2 TB and 3 TB versions. RAM is doubled to 32 GB on the dual-VM 3 TB model.

For remote office, branch office (ROBO) environments, Dell released the DR2000v virtual appliance. The software-only solution works in conjunction with peered Dell DR appliances (DR4000, DR4100 and DR6000) to provide deduplicated backup and recovery operations from a central office.

Dell DL1000 and DR2000v are available now. Prices start at $4,300 for a 2 TB DL1000 hardware backup appliance and $4,200 for a DR2000v virtual appliance license with 1 TB of capacity.

Pedro Hernandez is a contributing editor at InfoStor. Follow him on Twitter @ecoINSITE.